By Julius Suchy
Professional Development Committee Expands in Size
If you attended the MME Winter Institute in Gaylord you may have noticed that the Professional Development Committee (PDC) has grown in size from previous years. The committee has taken the approach that we need as many volunteers as we can get to help with the planning of both the summer and winter conferences. The goal of the PDC is not to have stale content and material and by bringing in new members it will hopefully allow us to continue providing excellent conference content that is valuable to MME membership. If you did not sign up to be part of the PDC but are interested in serving on the committee to help with the planning or you have an idea for an excellent speaker please contact me at jsuchy@spartami.org.
Winter Institute Survey – Participation Still Needed
By now you have received a few e-mails about filling out the survey for the Winter Institute in Gaylord. Hopefully, you have taken the time to respond but if you have not yet responded I would encourage you to do so. The PDC reviews the survey responses prior to starting work on planning the next conference and this feedback is invaluable. If you have feedback and don’t provide it, there is nothing the committee can do to make improvements for future events. We have had around 50 percent of our attendees fill out the survey but I would love to see the number even higher! To complete the survey, click here.
Scholarship Deadlines
The PDC provides a number of scholarship opportunities for its members. A full listing of the opportunities is available at www.mme.org/scholarship-application-guidelines/. The committee has four application rounds and the dates are listed below:
March 1, 2020
June 1, 2020
September 1, 2020
December 1, 2020
Upcoming Conference Locations
The PDC is working on selection of conference locations years in advance. Below is a listing of the upcoming conferences through 2023. The PDC is currently reviewing proposals for Winter 2022 in Southeast Michigan and will then follow up with securing 2024 locations. The summer conference is not restricted to any region and can move around the State. The Winter conference location is tied to a rotation and while we do our best to adhere to it, sometimes we have had regions swap due to lack of hotels or other issues.
2020 Summer – Frankenmuth (July 28-31, 2020)
2021 Winter – Grand Rapids (January 26-29, 2021)
2021 Summer – Rochester/Auburn Hills (July 20-23, 2021)
2022 Winter – Currently Reviewing Proposals
2023 Summer – Holland
Julius Suchy
Chair, Professional Development Committee; Village Manager, Sparta
Julius Suchy was appointed as Sparta village manager in 2014. His other municipal experience includes serving as Dundee village manager, Vassar city manager, and Big Rapids zoning administrator.